There’s something almost mystical about Nick Norton’s composition and video work for his single “Slow Night at the Arcade.” We see what at another time might hit someone as one of those old fractal videos from the 90s but also like a psychedelic evolution of the screen from the hold video game Tempest. It starts off like a short trip through violet clouded space to a wormhole bounded by angular walls. But with those walls/alleys turning in a slow spiral as motes of light drift toward us from a distant sun surrounded by luminous gasses emanating from its center. Like a journey through a wormhole to a more tranquil sector of the universe. The steady, calming pulse anchors the streaming haze of melodic synth tone and playful bursts of sound and orchestrated runs of notes and bleeps and blips punctuating the flow of soothing drone. The title suggests the kind of job that really doesn’t exist anymore the way it did in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s when someone might be working shifts at a video game arcade and the ambient sounds of various machines on start screens would generate an ambient hum that collectively feels like a world at rest with maybe a few players at machines changing that flow of mood but in the end creating a meditative backdrop. The sheer relaxed mood that conjures in a world that seems out of joint where nothing much seems chill is remarkable and Norton captures that energy perfectly with this song. The songwriter/composer wrote “Slow Night at the Arcade” and the rest of his new album Music For Sunsets (which released on September 15) alongside his recovery from a severe mental health break at the height of the 2020 pandemic ironically while working hard to help raise funds for other suddenly out of work musicians and getting back into music production and building a home studio. That can be a challenging and lengthy process but if this song and the rest of the unique ambient soundscapes of the new album are witness to and proof of Norton’s discovery of sounds and ideas that can guide the mind to a more restful place. Watch the video for “Slow Night at the Arcade” on YouTube and connect with Norton at the links below.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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